Leah B. Foley United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts | Department of Justice
A Nashua, New Hampshire man has pleaded guilty in federal court to trafficking nine firearms, including two semiautomatic rifles, into Massachusetts over a period of just over one month.
Dennis T. Michaud, Jr., 23, admitted to one count of trafficking in firearms. U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns set sentencing for April 28, 2026. Michaud was initially arrested and charged in March 2025.
According to court records, Michaud was identified as an illegal firearms dealer starting in February 2025. Undercover law enforcement officers contacted him through Snapchat to arrange the purchase of a semiautomatic rifle. During these conversations, Michaud said he was based in New Hampshire but could deliver the firearm to Massachusetts.
On February 11, 2025, Michaud met with a confidential source working with law enforcement in Pepperell, Massachusetts. At that meeting, he sold a Good Time Outdoors CXV Core 15 .223/5.56 caliber semiautomatic rifle and a 30-round magazine for $900.
One week later on February 18, Michaud agreed to sell three more firearms. He met the same source again in Pepperell and provided a Taurus Raging Hunter .454 Casull Revolver with ammunition; a Rossi Interarms M68 .38 Special Revolver with ammunition; and a Walther PPS 9mm Pistol along with six magazines and additional parts or accessories. The total price was $2,100.
On February 27, Michaud arranged another sale involving two additional firearms: a Radical Firearms RF-15 .223/5.56 caliber semiautomatic short-barreled rifle with a high-capacity magazine and a Sig Sauer P227 Equinox .45 caliber pistol with its own magazine. During this transaction, he told the confidential source that possessing the short-barreled rifle would amount to "three felonies" due to its features.
The final transaction took place on March 20 when Michaud sold three more guns—specifically a Century Arms AK-style rifle, a Smith & Wesson M&P pistol, and a Taurus PT-22 pistol—along with magazines and ammunition for $2,250. Authorities arrested him immediately after this sale.
Investigators found that Michaud did not have a federal firearms license at any time during these transactions.
The charge of trafficking in firearms without a license carries potential penalties of up to 15 years imprisonment, up to three years of supervised release and fines up to $250,000. Actual sentences are determined by federal judges following guidelines set by statute.
"United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Thomas Greco, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Boston Field Division made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police; and the Nashua (N.H.), Worcester and Pepperell Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sandra Gonzalez Sanchez of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case."
